1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension member and, more specifically, to a suspension member for connecting a vehicle wheel to a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicle suspension members sometimes referred to as control arms or suspension arms form part of the wheel suspension of a vehicle. In particular, individual wheel suspensions include several control arms. Mounting the suspension members rotatably on the vehicle body, chassis, or sub frame enables vehicle wheel movement under suspension compression and rebound. The suspension members rotate to allow substantially vertical mobility while otherwise fixing the vehicle wheel horizontally relative to the remainder of the vehicle.
The configuration and installation position of the suspension member distinguishes between longitudinal, diagonal and transverse control arms wherein the respective orientation relates to the travel direction of the vehicle. For example, a transverse suspension member extends substantially transversely to the direction of travel.
A bushing, normally designed as a composite bearing in the form of a rubber-metal bearing, secures the suspension member to the vehicle and vehicle wheel. The rubber proportion ensures an adequate decoupling and limited mobility of the suspension member relative to its mounting. The suspension member may include a pivot bearing and/or a support joint, for example in the form of a ball joint. The latter serves to couple the suspension member, in one example, to a spring strut or a stub axle of the wheel suspension.
Since the moving parts of the wheel suspension are unsprung masses, efforts are made to reduce their weight as much as possible. In some instances, suspension members have a solid body of aluminum or are composed of multiple formed sheet metal components. The components are joined to increase stability and for individual form adaptation.
As well as improving driving comfort, this allows a reduction in the vehicle weight, a factor becoming increasingly important in particular to reduce fuel consumption. Weight reduction of individual structural components is an important prerequisite for reducing the production of greenhouse gases from vehicles. In the ever more stringent worldwide legal regulations relating to energy efficiency and CO2 emissions lightweight construction of vehicles becomes even more significant.
Suspension members produced in lightweight construction as known in the prior art share a common feature, they are made either from an integral extruded profile of uniform material or from a formed sheet metal. Because of the resulting cavities and/or recesses, in comparison with a solid cross-section, there is a significant weight reduction. The use of an aluminum alloy allows a further reduction in the weight of the control arm, already reduced by its design.